Loyola Rolls Past San Diego

Loyola Marymount will admit that it isn’t the same team that reached unprecedented heights in women’s basketball last season.

The memories that include a lot of program firsts -- a West Coast Conference regular-season championship, a conference tournament title and a subsequent NCAA berth -- have faded over time.

Gonzaga has inherited the role as the overwhelming favorite in the WCC tournament, but Loyola’s thorough 68-49 trouncing of San Diego in a first-round game Thursday showed it intends to hang around for a while.

“These women have said from early on that they want to win their own championship,” Loyola Coach Julie Wilhoit said.

The second-seeded Lions (16-12) took a 10-2 lead over seventh-seeded San Diego (9-19), built the advantage to 16 by halftime and were never threatened. Leading scorer Rachael Ziemann made back-to-back three-pointers to get the team off to a quick start and Jacquelyn Woods had a big first half on the way to a 13-point, 10-rebound outing.

Loyola next plays Santa Clara on Saturday. The Broncos (15-13), led by Chandice Cronk’s 22 points, defeated San Francisco (12-16), 90-49.

Pepperdine 57, St. Mary’s 49 -- Jennifer Lacy scored 17 points and had nine rebounds as the fourth-seeded Waves (12-16) used tough defense to rebound from a rough start and win the first-round game.

The fourth-seeded Gaels made five of their first nine shots and built a 17-5 lead. Pepperdine clamped down and held St. Mary’s (15-13) to four points in the last 10:44 of the first half in taking a 27-21 lead.

“When we got down in the first half, this team probably would have folded earlier in the season,” Pepperdine Coach Julie Rousseau said. “It shows we’ve built a never-say-die attitude.”

St. Mary’s, which shot just 27.6%, would cut the lead to as little as three points with 3:44 remaining. But Lacy scored six points down the stretch to keep the Gaels at a distance.

Daphanie Kennedy had 15 points and Syreeta Stafford 12 for the Waves, who play Gonzaga in the semifinals Saturday. Triola Jackson led St. Mary’s with 20 points and 13 rebounds.

Gonzaga (26-2), ranked No. 24, won its 22nd consecutive game with a convincing 77-42 victory over Portland after leading by only four at halftime.